Adjusting to Work Life

In college, you become used to managing your day based on the classes you have. This allows you to plan ahead in regards to assignments, work schedule, and free time. One day you might have five classes and one day you might not have any classes. In the working world you work for eight hours each day every day with an hour lunch break if you are lucky. Your free time is only after or before work, which gives you little time to enjoy the things you may have done in college on a daily basis. One thing that many college students may underestimate is the ability to take an hour power nap after your morning classes before you head for the home stretch of your afternoon classes. At work you have to find ways to reenergize after an already long day.

Your time at work isn’t your own but the companies, so it is imperative to find ways to keep busy and productive. Meetings may pop up and unexpected problems may arise that eat at your energy levels as your stress increases. Working is about maintaining a consistent level of energy throughout the day to maximize productivity, and developing ways to manage your time so you are always at least a little busy. The one thing that is worse than being overloaded with work is having no work to do. Finding the middle ground is essential to being productive in the workplace. Also, procrastination cannot exist at work. It is not possible to cram before a deadline and think that you are going to do a good job on your assignment. Give yourself plenty of time to work on assignments and go back and forth between projects to ensure you don’t fall behind.

My final thought is that I expected working to be harder than school, but in many ways I find it more enjoyable and easier. For one thing the work is more enjoyable. Even the most mundane task at work I find to be more enjoyable than any of the assignments I’ve done at school. Also, I’ve found that although I may be more tired at the end of the day, I seem to be able to maintain my energy easier by switching between tasks. Lastly, when finishing a project in school I was overcome with a sense of relief, but at work when I finish a project I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in a job well done. Working at Dwellworks has been an enjoyable change from college life.

 

-Kevin Mullinger

Valuation Services Intern

Costa Rica Integration

As we continue to integrate our office in Escazú, San José, Costa Rica, Max and I just conducted a phone ‘interview’ with Pilar Plá in order to understand how things are done there from the supply chain perspective (basically all activities dealing with the Destination Consultants and their assignees/transferees).  Pilar provided us with details concerning the DC recruitment process, required documentation, the role of the DCs from the beginning to the end of a program, the welcome packet strategy, performance tracking measures, payment of the DCs and challenges. 

I recently worked with Brittany and then Pilar in order to translate an email that will be sent to each DC in Spanish-speaking countries from now on, informing them of their new email account set up through Dwellworks.  These accounts are in order to ensure and convey the DCs professional affiliation with Dwellworks in all communication with their transferees.  The reason this is being implemented is because DCs in the past would email their transferee from their personal email, which on some occasions would be strange, inappropriate, or even cause their messages to be automatically classified as junk/spam mail.  Their new accounts will be @myDwellworks so that there is a distinction between DCs and Dwellworks employees (who have @dwellworks accounts). 

While that is going on, I will begin running background checks on each of the DCs in Costa Rica.  The Costa Rica office has never run background checks on their DCs (they would just call references provided by the DC) so this is an important step to ensure not only safety of the transferees and Dwellworks but also to create a standard procedure of DC recruitment worldwide.  Soon, I will run a test-background check on Pilar (she said she’s okay with being the guinea pig J) and then begin to run checks on each of our Costa Rican DCs.   

         

¡Pura vida!
Alex
Global Supply Chain
Cleveland

My Cube

My Cube




This is the space where I work. I spend roughly 40 hours each week (give or take a few) working from this desk.  I've never pictured myself working in a cubicle before. In fact, before coming to Dwellworks, I had a fear of the cube. I associated the idea with a white collar wasteland, an office full of sad people working meaningless hours separated by thin cubicle walls. My brain has associated this depressing image with office work in general until I began this internship here at Dwellworks.

The people at this office and the dynamic environment that is the relocation industry has changed my opinion of office life. So much so that it has made me, a notorious late sleeper, look forward to the morning. I have thoroughly enjoyed coming into the office each day. Work at Dwellworks is not the monotonous chore that I previously thought work was. The domestic DS department has kept me very busy, which I am grateful for. The high volume keeps me busy and focused and leaves me feeling accomplished at the end of the day. I am glad to be part of the Dwellworks team and look forward to the rest of my time in this cozy little cube.
 

 

 



Location, Location, Location

The location of a company can either make or break the business. Here at Dwellworks’ headquarters located in the beautiful Cleveland, Ohio, we do not have that problem. We are located right in the middle of Downtown Cleveland in Playhouse Square. Playhouse Square is the second largest theater district behind New York City. Around the area you can find numerous restaurants, businesses, and more recently the world’s largest permanent, outdoor chandelier. Also not too far away are parks, apartments, various sporting arenas, and more dining options. I could try a new place every day this summer and never repeat the same restaurant twice.

One thing I was worried about this summer was driving Downtown everyday in traffic. To my surprise coming from the suburbs to the city everyday isn’t that bad. You get use to the traffic, I am getting more familiar with traveling within Cleveland, and improving my driving skills all at the same time. I truly love working in this city; I am experiencing Cleveland like I never had before!

Amber

                                                         

First impressions

When I first arrived at Dwellworks I was taken back by how friendly and open the employees were. Before my arrival, I knew Dwellworks was voted a top workplace in Cleveland but was unsure what set this company apart. Walking through the door you are greeted with the five core values of integrity, teamwork, performance, innovation, and fun; I was unsure how this young company could uphold such abstract corporate values. Throughout the past two weeks working as an intern, I have truly experienced a corporate culture that allows for fun and new ideas while still providing top notch relocation support services. From the snacks hosted by the fun and wellness committee, to the professional conference calls delivered by our property management team; Dwellworks truly incorporates an open and fun work environment conducive to producing results.

Steven Freiberg
PM Intern

Post-Student Living: From Campus to the Office

I'm not going to lie; finishing my degree was a huge shock to the system. With the relief of hitting my deadlines, came the realization that the long lie-ins and carefree fun of my student days would soon be long gone. Fortunately, I had only a week between completing my degree and starting as an intern at Dwellworks, so the time for me to lament my losses was fairly minimal.

Despite the initial shock, the transition from university-life to the working world was not as drastic as I had anticipated it would be. In terms of work-load, I definitely feel like I'm just as busy as I was throughout my final year. As an English Literature graduate, the most significant difference for me has been the leap from spending my days pondering over novels and poetry to using my brain in an entirely different, and much more factual manner.

Although the job involves a lot of communication with clients and colleagues, I spend a lot of my day going through numbers and working with data in a way that I have never needed to before. It took me a while to get used to Excel and there have been a few times where I have committed the classic intern faux-paus of turning to Google. As the end of Week 2 approaches, however, I really feel like I'm starting to find my feet and get into the swing of things.

Infact, the day-to-day skills needed for office-life are not all that different from those used throughout my degree. There's a huge emphasis on the importance of strong communication and I'm constantly analyzing and interpreting pieces of information. Organisation is key, as is the ability to manage and structure my own working-day.

There are still times where I slip-up, but I try to use my mistakes in a way which allows me to learn and progress in my role. Overall, I'm really starting to embrace my journey from book-loving student to business-minded intern.

...I still need to get used to those 6am mornings, though!

Sophie
Destination Services Intern
UK Office.

Adjustment from College-life to work life

The biggest question coming in to this internship was “what am I going to do for 8 hours?” That is definitely not the question anymore because I am always asking myself “where has the time gone?” There are many periods of downtime at school except while at work once you’re given responsibilities and projects; they keep you busy from 9-5. There is a lot of variety in the different projects that have been given to me. The thing I have enjoyed working here so far is the environment here at Dwellworks that keeps you motivated and almost makes you forget you’re in an office all day.

Compared to college where you’re always getting up and going to different activities. Here in the office your mind moves from switching project to project. Time management will solely be the key skill to learn throughout the summer. These past two weeks I have been given projects to work on the Rent Assist settling-in guides, supplier coverage surveys, audits in service engine and the main haul of the work load is authorizations. There has been a lot of help that keeps me focused and not feel overwhelmed with the project load. As the summer rolls on I look forward to seeing all the work I have done by the end of the internship.

 

Andrew Tam

Intern, Supply Chain